“That” vs. “Which”: What’s the Difference?
Jun 8, 2023
Engram
The difference between “that” and “which”
- The main difference between that and which is their usage in restrictive and non-restrictive clauses.
- That is used for essential information that cannot be removed from the sentence, while which is used for additional, non-essential information.
- Another difference is that that can be used to refer to a person or thing, while which is only used to refer to things.
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What is the definition of “that” and “which”?
That
- That is a pronoun used to refer to a specific thing or person mentioned in a sentence.
- It is commonly used in restrictive clauses, meaning it specifies a crucial detail that cannot be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.
- That is also used to introduce a subordinate clause, which refers back to the main clause and adds more information about it.
Which
- Which is a pronoun used to refer to a thing or things mentioned in a sentence.
- It is often used in non-restrictive clauses, meaning it provides additional information that is not essential to the sentence's meaning.
- Which can also be used as a conjunction to link two closely related clauses or sentences.
Which is the more popular variant on the Internet?
“That” is the more popular variant on the web.
More popular
That
20,550,000,000 results on the web
Examples
- That book is really interesting.
- I can't believe that she did that.
- That is not what I meant to say.
Which
15,330,000,000 results on the web
Examples
- The car, which was red, caught my attention.
- I must return the book which I borrowed from the library.
- The situation in which I found myself was unexpected.
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